Seeing Red
by HosekiDragon
Summary: Steampunk AU. In London's back streets, a gang of orphans struggles to survive through scamming, scheming, and stealing. Three of them-Ed, Edd, and Eddy-have no memory, no past, and very possibly a dark secret that could shatter London forever.
1. Really Quite Unnecessary

_Aheh, I really have no excuse for myself. Ever since Chaotic was "put on hiatus" (aka cancelled) and Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name started to dwindle down, I've sort of been looking for something else to obsess over. EEnE happened._

_**PLEASE NOTE:**__ This is an Alternate Universe fic set in an alternate Victorian Era commonly known as Steampunk. If this isn't your cup of tea (no pun intended) then don't read it. There will be numerous amounts of angst, blood, trauma, Victorian slang, and Ed shenanigans. Consider yourself warned._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Ed Edd n Eddy._

_All notices and important stuff aside, I present you with Eternity's Army.

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**One: Really Quite Unnecessary

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The problem, he decided, was those three.

Yes. It was most definitely those three idiots.

That wasn't to say they weren't useful, they certainly had their perks, but they were just so...odd. They didn't belong, something was off about them. He wasn't sure what it was but it was something that made him want to throw them out.

But he couldn't do that. He'd promised, made an oath, not to turn anyone away. So he'd just have to put up with them.

Kevin's eyes narrowed as he glared at his tiny gang of orphans and misfits from his perch atop a stack of crates. They were a strange bunch, there was no denying that. A group of kids with no where else to go but into London's back alleys and dark recesses, thieves and schemers who picked the pockets of the unwary and made off with any goods not carefully watched.

He watched Jimmy and Sarah scrounging around in the middle of the floor, digging through an old pile of worn out blankets, he looked on as Rolf sorted through the results of their latest enterprise, let his gaze linger on Nazz as she tried in vain to remove a smear of grease from her skirts, traveled across Jonny and that rodent he always carried around, and finally settled on _them_.

They sat in their own little corner of the abandoned hut, snickering to one another and muttering quietly. They were always muttering, always scheming. Or at least _he_ was. The other two usually just seemed to be along for the ride.

Ed, the tallest of the trio. Dim-witted and still tough as a brick. In any other gang, Kevin would have labeled him as the muscle; Ed would punch through anything to get to his friends. Even if what he was punching through had a habit of punching back.

Eddward. But everyone called him Double D. Or Dee. Or Edd. That kid had more nicknames then Kevin could come up with in a second. But was smart, almost eerily so. He could rebuild a broken steam-car in a minute and probably make it run smoother in the process.

And then there Eddy. Kevin had loathed that short stack of annoyance since the trio had wandered into their alley on a cold, rainy night. He was loud, obnoxious, and prone to undermining Kevin's authority.

Everyone else in the gang had a story, a reason why they were orphans. The three Eds did not. If asked, Ed would simply spout some random nonsense and laugh. It made Kevin want to punch him. But Edd and Eddy...

He'd asked Eddy. Oh he'd asked plenty of times. The first time he'd gotten a simple string of rude comments telling him to back off. The next several times after that had ended in fist fights with variations on the winner. The last time he'd asked, Eddy had actually gone quiet for a whole solid minute and when Kevin had taunted him, Eddy had given him the deadliest glare Kevin had ever seen and stalked off.

Double D was the only one who'd really given him something that could have been called an answer. He'd cornered the kid alone just before they'd gone out pick-pocketing and threatened him for the answer. Where did you come from? Why are you orphans? What happened to you?

And Eddward had looked back at him with black eyes like obsidian and said, "We don't remember." And then he'd slipped away before Kevin could get another word in.

Those three...! Kevin clenched his fingers on the edge of the boxes, gritting his teeth. Why did they put him on edge so much? Was it because they had no memories, or at least said they didn't? No, that wasn't it. Was it because they'd simply wandered in and expected to be accepted into their group? No, that wasn't it either.

Maybe it was the faint, lingering scent of grease and steam.

Maybe it was the odd clicking-whir that he swore he heard on occasion.

Maybe it was Ed's inhuman strength.

Maybe it was Double D's uncanny skills.

Maybe it was Eddy's unnatural ability to _just keep going_.

Maybe it was what he'd found in the graveyard last week.

There was certainly something abnormal about those three boys and Kevin was bound and determined to keep an eye on them. If they threatened the safety of his gang in any way, shape, or form he'd turn them out into the streets; promise or no promise.

* * *

"Oh Double Deeee~!" Eddy's sing-song voice rang through the small shack that the gang lived in, tucked back into a shady alley of London's dark side, "Double D, where aaaarrreee yyyoooouuu~?" The short boy paused, listening for a response. When none came, he huffed and pushed a greasy strand of jet black hair from his face, "Double D?" Still no answer. Eddy opened his mouth, took in a deep breath, and shouted, "DOUBLE D!"

A shower of dust trickled from the ceiling but no Double D appeared.

"Huh, that's weird." Eddy scratched his head, frowning, "He can't have gone too far. Hell, he doesn't like to be away from his bed if he can help it. Double D!"

"Dee's out with Rolf and Jonny." Said a voice and Eddy spun around to see Kevin standing there with his hands in his jacket pockets, his cap pulled low over his red bangs.

Eddy ground his teeth together and stomped up to the taller boy, "Did you send him out there with them? Did you!"

Kevin smirked, "So what if I did? He's got to pull his weight just like everyone else."

"He won't do it and you know it!" Eddy screeched, grabbing at Kevin's coat, "You know he won't so why do you keep sending him out there!"

"Because he's nothing but a useless freeloader unless he brings back some goods!" Kevin shouted back and his fist made contact with the side of Eddy's face, sending the other boy sprawling, "I've had it with his whining! Either he does more than fix a bloody hole in the wall or he can go back out into the streets by himself!" And with that, the gang leader stomped away, fuming.

Eddy stared after him, shaking with anger. A pair of strong hands picked him off the ground and set him back on his feet again. Eddy glanced over his shoulder and muttered, "Thanks Ed."

"Anytime Eddy." The taller boy murmured and then looked around with a frown, "Where's Double D?"

"That idiot Kevin sent him out with Rolf and Jonny." Eddy growled, "And he said if Sir Prissy Pants doesn't bring back any decent goods, he's throwing him out."

"Wha-Double D!" Ed gaped at his companion, "But Double D has done a lot for the group. He's fixed a heater and a car-only you crashed that so I guess it doesn't count anymore-and he's really smart. Why would Kevin get rid of him?"

"I don't know, Ed, I think something's bothering him." Eddy hitched up the two belts that were criss-crossing over his front, the holsters holding his tiny steam-guns tapping lightly against his thighs, "Come on, we're going to go find Edd."

"But I am right here."

"Not you, you moron! Double D!"

"Oh. Why're we going to find Double D?"

"Because God knows Helmethead's going to need all the help he can get."

* * *

Eddward was currently standing beside a fruit stall in the market, inspecting a display of rather fine looking apples. He could smell their sweet aroma and it made his stomach gurgle with hunger. He licked his lips and raised a hand, fingers twitching as he reached for the largest, shiniest one of the bunch.

The hair on the back of his neck, underneath the brown-red ponytail poking out from underneath his flight helmet, prickled and stood on end. Edd glanced up, saw the owner glaring at him, and slowly withdrew his hand, making it seem as though he was only reaching up to adjust the goggles perched atop his helmet. The owner's eyes narrowed and he turned away from his display of large melons to stalk towards the boy.

Edd swallowed thickly and stepped back a pace. There was a flash of movement from behind the stall owner and one of the melons disappeared. Then another. Eddward quickly tore his gaze away from the disappearing melons and focused on the owner who had finally reached the edge of his stall and gone around the side so that he was now face-to-face with the unfortunate Edd.

"What are you up to, kid?" The large man asked menacingly.

"I...I think you misunderstand, good sir..." Edd said weakly, his legs starting to shake. He wasn't cut out for this, not at all, "I was m-merely inspecting your wares, I assure you."

"Really?" The stall owner raised an eyebrow critically, looking over the worn out vest, the faded pants, and dusty spats and vanbraces that Edd wore, "'Cause it looked like you were trying to _steal_ one of my apples."

"N-n-no! That's not it at all!" Eddward stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the large man, "P-please! I mean no harm!"

Why, oh, why was he doing this? He wasn't made for stealing, for cheating, for scamming; he barely fit in with the other kids in the gang. He was the inventor, the medic, the one who patched everything up. He wasn't supposed to be out _stealing_. That was Eddy's thing, not his.

"We'll see how much harm you mean, brat!" The man reached for him and Eddward let out a squeal of fear, tripping over his own feet in an attempt to get away. A hand grabbed his ponytail and yanked on it painfully, hauling him backwards and out of the way of the grasping owner.

"Run Double D!" Jonny shouted as Rolf let go of Eddward's ponytail.

Edd reoriented himself and took off after the short, dark-skinned Jonny and the tall, foreign boy, Rolf. The angry shouts of the stall owner rang after them, calling for the police.

"Rozzers on our tail!" Jonny yelled out as they spun around a corner and into a side alley, attempting to lose their unwanted followers.

"Rolf thinks taking this narrow street was not such a good thing." Rolf muttered, skidding to a halt in the middle of the alley.

"Oh d-d-dear...!" Edd clamped his fingers tightly around the strap on the leather bag dangling over his shoulder.

"What do we do now, Plank?" Jonny asked, speaking to the dirty-blonde furred rat that was perched on his shoulder. How Jonny had trained a rat was beyond anyone, especially a London rat.

Police officers closed in from either side of the alley, blocking their exits. Edd's dark eyes swiveled around, trying to find some means of escape. But there was nothing. No grate that would lead to the sewers, no hidden passage through the wall, no ladder that would lead them high up the roofs and to safety. They were stuck.

"Rolf is thinking this is the end." Sighed the foreigner, "But Rolf will not go down without a fight! This will be a battle like that of the annoying-Ed-boy's and Leader Kevin but with much more screaming of agony!" And he puffed out his chest, clenched his fists (though one was occupied by a bag of stolen goods), and glared down the officers as though daring them to approach.

Edd got got a lump in his throat that made it suddenly almost impossible to breathe. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. He tried to swallow and found his mouth dry, his limbs shaking and weak, his head spinning. He would get arrested and go to jail and he knew what they did to thieves in jail. Thieves would lose a hand. His stomach turned over.

The officers were closing in. This was it, it was going to be over soon. He would never invent anything ever again. He would probably never see Ed nor Eddy ever again and would most likely spend the rest of his days rotting in some cell. Useless, alone, and short an appendage.

Something clicked inside him. It was almost audible, he could almost hear a gear turn and click into place. Pacifist though he was, Eddward had to draw the line somewhere and losing a hand was definitely where a line needed to be drawn.

Dark eyes narrowed and a hand reached into the bag at his side. Enough was enough.

"Rolf, Jonny!" The two other boys glanced at Edd, "Grab hold of me and close your eyes! This is going to be bright." With those words, he reached up and pulled down his goggles.

Rolf and Jonny shared a brief look between them and then darted to Eddward's side, grabbed a fistful of his vest, and screwed their eyes shut. Edd removed his hand from his bag, slim fingers clutching a couple of small, metal spheres. Each of the spheres had a tiny patch of leather and a knob on the top. Edd pressed all the knobs at the same time, releasing the catch inside the devices, and flung the spheres in either direction towards the oncoming officers.

There was a sharp crack, a hissing-squeal of compressed steam, and then a brilliant flash of light that blinded anyone who didn't have their eyes closed. Or happened to be wearing a specially crafted pair of tinted goggles. Even so, Rolf and Jonny saw stars and lights dancing in their vision and they had to rely on Edd to guide them safely out of the alley. At a very quick run.

The trio collapsed some half hour later, closer to London's underground and farther from its busy central market. Edd was gasping for breath, his chest heaving, sweat drenching his face and staining the front of his shirt. He sagged against a wall, eyes closed, limbs quivering with the aftermath of the adrenaline rush.

"Double D!" Jonny cried, "That was amazing! What were those?"

"F-flash...bombs..." Eddward panted, wiping sweat from his brow with a shaking hand, "Made them...m-myself...last batch..."

"Rolf is grateful to helmet-wearing-Ed-boy for saving his skin!" Rolf proclaimed, yanking the exhausted Edd to his feet, "For this Rolf will provide you with free passage home! Take these, Jonny-rat-boy." And he thrust the bag into Jonny's hands. Jonny heaved both Rolf's bag and his own over his shoulder, carefully avoiding Plank, and they set off together down the back alleys.

"Rolf..." Edd moaned, "This really...isn't necessary..." It was also intensely embarrassing and completely invading his personal space. Rolf had slung Edd over his shoulder so that Edd's face was pressed against his back, his gaze fixed on the ground, "Rolf...I can walk..."

"Silence, Ed-boy!" Rolf stated, "This is favor returning, yes! Rolf knows you are not up to running vast distances with your puny stick-legs so enjoy your ride!"

"Er...thank you, Rolf. I think." Edd murmured, pushing his goggles back up to the top of his helmet with a shaky hand. It wasn't so much that he was worn out from that run, it was just that he was in something of a state of shock. He'd attacked a group of police officers, the _law enforcement_ for Heaven's sake! He knew it was the right thing to do because, darn it, if he hadn't that would have been the end of their little gang. But it still felt so _wrong_.

"Rolf? Jonny? Double D!" A familiar voice shouted and Edd suddenly found himself enfolded in a smothering hug, the thick fabric of a familiar, stained and filthy trench coat pressed against his face.

"E-Ed, please!" Eddward cried, pressing against the bigger boy in a vain attempt to get him to let go, "I...I can't...b-breathe!"

"Kevin was going to throw you out, Double D!" Ed cried, finally setting Edd down.

"He what!" Edd looked up, startled.

"He told me!" Eddy snapped angrily, "He told me himself that if you didn't bring back any goods, he was going to turn you out onto the streets!"

"Why would red-head-Kevin-boy do such a thing?" Rolf blinked in confusion, running a hand through his messy, blue-black hair.

"He can't throw out Double D!" Jonny cried, "He just attacked some police officers! Plank saw the whole thing! There was a flash of light and then _BAM_ they were all knocked down!"

Edd winced at the memory, fiddling absently with the straps on his helmet. Eddy stared at Jonny and then looked around at Edd with his mouth hanging open. Edd felt his face flush with shame and embarrassment.

"Our little Double D is growing up, Eddy!" Ed said happily, patting Eddward on the head. Edd thought he felt his spine being squished.

"We-ow-really shouldn't-ow-be standing around out here!" Edd said, wincing each time his taller companion hit his head, "Ow-Ed, please-ow-stop that-ow."

"Oh, sorry." Ed took a step back, stuffing his hands in his pockets and hunching his shoulders with s sheepish smile.

"Plank agrees with ya', Double D!" Jonny announced, indicating the rat still sitting placidly on his shoulder, "We should get a move on in case those rozzers decide to show up again."

With nods of agreement from the others, the group set off through London's twisted back alley's, trading banter and stories and plans. Eddy teased Edd about the encounter with the police, knowing it would rub Double D the wrong way, Rolf hummed a tune that no one knew, Jonny was talking with Plank, and Ed was...being Ed and ducking in and out of everyone's conversations.

Their good moods plummeted somewhat when they saw Kevin waiting for them outside the safe house. His arms were crossed over his chest, his gaze hard, and he was tapping his foot on ground in a pointed sort of way.

"Well, Double Dollymop," The gang leader looked on expectantly, "Did you bring back anything good? Because I'm sick of your freeloading!"

"Kevin, I assure that I am anything _but_ a freeloader." Edd stated, prepared to defend himself, "I have done my fair share of work around the safe house. Anything that's been broken I've fixed. Why, I even-."

"Fixing things doesn't help us eat, _Eddward_." Kevin prodded Edd in the chest and Eddy's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Where's the goods?"

"I...I..." Edd swallowed, looked helplessly around at his companions, and then returned his gaze to Kevin, "I'm sorry, Kevin, but I didn't manage...to steal...anything..." He trailed off dejectedly, shoulders drooping.

"Is that so?" Kevin raised an eyebrow, smirking, "Well, then, I'm so sorry Double D, but I'm afraid you've become a burden on this gang and-."

"If he goes, we go!" Eddy shouted, stomping up beside Edd, fury easily readable on his face. Kevin stared at him, "You heard me! You get rid of Helmethead, you get rid of us 'cause we're sticking with him!"

"Eddy..." Edd said hesitantly.

"And Ed too!" Ed cried, jumping forward and scooping his two friends up in his strong arms, "If Eddy and Double D go, the Ed goes too!" And he gave Kevin quite a frighting glare indeed.

"Wait Kevin, you can't get rid of Double D!" Jonny shouted, "He saved us!"

"'Tis true, Rolf was there!" Rolf exclaimed, striding forward on his long legs, "Helmet-wearing-Ed-boy save Rolf and Rat-boy-Jonny from Blue-bottle-law-men when they caught us...uh, how you say? Busting?"

"Buzzing?" Edd supplied, cringing a little at the slang term for stealing.

"Yes! Buzzting!" Rolf grinned, "Law-enforce-men had blocked of narrow-street-alley, yes, and were closing in and Rolf would have fought them until last breath!"

"But Double D pulled out some bombs and blew them all to high Heaven!" Jonny added, "Isn't that right, Plank?" He looked expectantly at the rat on his shoulder. The scruffy rodent wrinkled its nose and its tail twitched, "See, I told you! Even Plank saw it happen!"

"You _blew up_ rozzers?" Kevin gasped, gaping at Edd who was still dangling in Ed's strong grip.

"N-n-no, you misunderstand!" Edd struggled, feet kicking several inches off the ground, "They were flash bombs! They simply blinded the officers so we could escape! It was a simple trick! I assure you no one was hurt!" He paused, thinking about it, "Actually, Rolf pulled my ponytail and I did bite my tongue..."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Kevin thrust a hand out, silencing the stuttering Eddward, "You had flash bombs and you never _told anyone_! Is that helmet on too tight! We could have used those! Think of how much safer everyone would be if they had one of those in their pockets!"

"I'd rather they not." Edd huffed, pushing Kevin's hand out of his face, "I abhor violence, Kevin, and normally I would not have committed such an atrocious act against legitimate men of the law. However, even I have to draw a line at getting my hand cut off!"

"Double D, you're an animal! Hahahaha!" Eddy slapped Edd on the back, his raucous laughter ringing down the alleyway.

"Well, well, well," Kevin stepped back, looking Eddward up and down with some sort of half-hidden new respect, "I think I just found a new job for you. Congratulations, Double D, you just earned the post of Weapons Developer." And without waiting for a response, the gang leader turned to Rolf and Jonny, "Good job, you two. Get those goods inside and let's start sorting them out."

"Rolf is eager to rest his weary feet, yes!" Rolf stated loudly, picking up a bag and swinging it easily over his shoulder as he followed Kevin back into the old hut.

"Let's go, Plank!" Jonny hurried after the two and the door slammed shut on the three Eds.

"What...just happened...?" Edd wondered, staring blankly at the closed door.

"Oooh, oooh, I want a lightning rifle!" Ed danced on the spot, looking excited, "Double D will you make me a lightning rifle? Oooh, can I catch the lighting? Please, Double D, can I please?"

"Lightning...rifle...?" Ed murmured weakly.

"Was that...did Kevin..." Eddy blinked, looked from Edd, to the closed door, and back again, "Was Kevin just _nice_ to you?"

"Lightning! Lightning! Lighting rifle!" Ed chanted loudly.

"I...I believe he was." Edd gripped the leather strap of his beg, spinning around to look wildly at his shorter companion, "Eddy! Kevin wants me to make weapons! Me! Make weapons!"

"Lightning! Lighting! Lightning rifle!"

"What's wrong with that?" Eddy was grinning, "Not only would we be the most unstoppable gang in London but we could sell those inventions of yours for money!"

"I can't do that Eddy!"

"Lightning! Lighting! Lightning rifle!"

"Why not?"

"Lightning! Lighting! Lighting rifle!"

"Because I'm a _pacifist_!"

"Lightning! Lightning! Lightning rifle!"

"ED BE QUIET!" Eddy screamed and the taller boy shrank back. Eddy gave him a warning glare and then faced Edd once again, the glare becoming a warm smile that Edd didn't quite believe, "All right, Double D, if you don't want to sell your weapons, you don't have to." He reached up and slung an arm around his friend's shoulders, "But you still have to make weapons."

"But Eddy, I-!"

"Kevin's orders." Eddy poked the end of Edd's nose in a friendly way but Edd still huffed and brushed him aside, "Look, if you're so upset about it, we'll help you. Won't we Ed?"

"Help, Ed will do!" Cried the taller boy and scooped the other two up in his arms again, "Come, my fellows, there is much to be done and we are the merry wanderers of the night who jest to the Fairy King and make him laugh!" And he kicked the door open dramatically and strode in, still carrying his struggling friends in his arms.

"Ed!" Shouted an angry female voice, "Shut the door!"

"Don't yell, Sarah!" Ed shouted back and then the door banged shut, shivering on its old hinges. From inside the safe house, the muffled sounds of laughter and shouting could be heard. Dusk draped itself over London and the shadows stretched out, long and thin, across the cobbled streets.

Another day, another successful raid on the marketplace. The gang was safe for another day, would survive another day. And with Edd making weapons to keep them that way, things were really starting to look up.

At least for the moment.

* * *

_And then the world exploded and everyone died._

_Okay, no, not really. _

_So what're your guys thoughts. Continue it? Yes? No? Do you want more or do want me stop throwing absolutely everything into Steampunk? Feed back is like chocolate covered gold only edible. Wait, that didn't make sense either…_


	2. Do Not Disturb

_So I might remove this from dA. I dunno yet, depends on what sort of response I get on the third chapter. Over there, I mean. I'll probably still dump it here as vent writing. _

_Anyway, sorry about the wait but here's the second chapter. I kept meaning to put this up and I kept forgetting. Silly me. _

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**Two: Do Not Disturb

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A week later, Edd couldn't take it anymore. He was in desperate need of a break.

The floor on the upper level of the hut was continually littered with spare parts, gears, chains, wires, bulbs, and an odd assortment of other random bits and pieces. Kevin had cleared everyone else out of the attic and given it to Edd specifically so he could work on weapons. Eddy had found this highly suspicious and used this as an excuse to move himself and Ed upstairs as well.

And Eddward was about to explode.

Between Ed and Eddy goofing around in their corner of the attic, the noises from below, and Kevin's constant nagging and stares, his nerves were wearing down ridiculously thin.

Or maybe it wasn't any of that. Maybe it was really just that every part of him was rebelling at the thought of making these weapons. They weren't all that harmful really; they would stun, blind, create a distraction, but _never_ kill. All the same, he was making weapons and it wasn't sitting well with him, not at all.

Edd sat slumped against the wall, staring blankly at the jumble of leather and wires in his hands. Grease and dirt stained his fingertips and he wiped it away on an already dirty rag. Then, with a frustrated sigh, he tossed everything aside and picked his way through the mess covering the worn wooden floor, heading for the ladder to take him downstairs.

"Double D!" Edd's feet slipped on the third rung from the bottom and he tumbled the short distance to the bottom to lay in a heap on the floor. Eddy peered down at him, "What're you doing?"

"Taking a short break." Edd confessed, rolling to his feet and dusting himself off. Then he turned a suspicious stare on Eddy, "Why are you asking?"

Eddy couldn't hide his grin, "I knew it, you're going insane up there! Come on, Double D, we're all going out!"

"Out?" Edd questioned, "Has Kevin given you an assignment?"

"Tch, no." Eddy scoffed, "We're just going to play around, relax, just have a little fun. You deserve it."

"Why do I get the feeling that's not _all_ you want to do?"

"Eddy found some haunted hou-!" Ed started to say but Eddy clamped a hand over the taller boy's mouth, looking around to make sure no one had heard them.

"Shut your mouth!" Eddy hissed, glaring at Rolf who was watching them curiously.

"Haunted houses, Eddy? Really?" Edd crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow, "I thought we'd discussed this; no more haunted houses, no more raiding abandoned buildings."

"We're just exploring, Double D, don't get your petticoats tangled up. And they're not haunted." Eddy rolled his eyes like it was obvious, "Besides, don't pretend you don't want to go. I've been watching you, mister, you're pushing it." He poked one of the buttons on Edd's vest, "You need to get out of here for a while or you're going to disappear into a pile of junk."

Edd frowned at him but he couldn't deny that he would rather be outside in the filthy streets of London than in the safe house buildings weapons. He thought about it for a moment, his dark eyes wandering across the inhabitants of the old hut. They were all busy with their own chores, they would hardly notice that the three of them had left.

"All right, Eddy, I agree. Let's go, I could do with a breath of fresh air."

* * *

Kevin looked up as he heard the door creak open and caught a glimpse of the three Eds vanishing through it before it swung shut again. His eyes narrowed. He still did not trust them. He'd given Edd something to do with his time, true, but he couldn't bring himself to put his faith in those three, not like he did with the other kids.

"Jimmy," He beckoned the blond-haired boy over, "Come here." The boy obeyed, skipping to Kevin's side from where he'd been busily mending some worn out blankets with Sarah, "I need you to do something for me."

"What, Kevin?"

"I need you to follow the three Eds. Follow them, watch what they're doing, watch where they go, and then tell me everything. Can you do that?"

"Sure. But why? Do you think they're conspiring with another gang?"

Kevin was silent for a moment, his gaze hard as he thought. Finally he muttered, "No, I don't think it's that."

"Then what?"

"Doesn't matter." The redhead said suddenly, "Just follow them, all right."

Jimmy looked confused for a moment and then nodded, turned on his heel, and headed out the door. It wasn't hard to follow the three Eds, they weren't exactly subtle when they were out and about on their own. Jimmy trailed along behind them, carefully sticking to the shadows and among large crowds, and more than once he saw Eddy's hand flash into someone's pocket and pull out a handkerchief or a couple of coins that quickly disappeared into the short boy's own pockets. No doubt these would not be shared among the rest of the gang; Eddy was notorious for keeping what he stole to himself.

The Eds wove a haphazard trail from the back alleys, through the market, and past the train station, causing trouble wherever they went. Ed overturned a whole stall of baked goods and then ran away laughing, Eddy swiped a handful of cheap jewelry and then sold it to someone else a few feet away, and Edd simply suffered in the middle of it, occasionally lifting a few coins from anyone that invaded his personal space more than he cared for.

They weren't the only kids on the streets but anyone could tell the difference between a street rat and a rich brat. It was telling the difference between gang members that normal people couldn't pick out. But the street kids all knew who was with whom. Jimmy picked out six different kids from six different gangs as he navigated the crowded market, always keeping the Eds in his sights, though there was a moment he went out of his way to avoid a girl from the Kanker gang. The Kankers were three sisters who had a group comprised completely of girls and they were the nastiest bunch of people Jimmy had ever had the unfortunate displeasure of meeting. If anything, they were Kevin's gang's biggest rivals and they really had it in for Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

"Where are you going...?" Jimmy muttered under his breath as he darted around a corner, never taking his eyes off the three boys, "What're you up to?"

The further and further they got from the market, the less and less people they saw, and the harder and harder it got for Jimmy to blend in. The Eds detoured often, spotting something of interest only to find it wasn't really that interesting at all and wandering back onto their original course. This usually happened with Ed though there was the occasion where Eddward got distracted by something and just had to go investigate. Eddy loathed these detours and let the other two know it with his hoarse shouting and wild gestures.

At first, Jimmy couldn't understand how they could possibly be friends, he couldn't grasp the idea that Eddward let Eddy boss him around when Edd was clearly superior in intellect. But as he watched, he realized what Kevin had seen long ago; they were hiding something. Maybe it was the way they interacted with each other, maybe it was something about their movements, something that seemed forced, off, wrong. Whatever it was, it tied them together. It was a secret and Jimmy was suddenly intensely curious to find out what it was.

Of course, as fate would have it, that was the moment that he lost them.

The Eds had been skirting around the edges of run-down or abandoned buildings that were littered across the outskirts of London's factory district, laughing, chasing one another, and fiddling with anything they happened to find intriguing. Then they ran into an old warehouse, slamming the large door shut behind them, and Jimmy hesitated to follow, not knowing whether or not there was a decent hiding place inside the old building. He figured he would wait for the Eds to come back out so he settled himself into a tiny gap between two buildings to watch and wait.

* * *

As soon as the warehouse door shut behind him, the entire building was plunged into a gray gloom, the only light coming from the thin beams of sunlight that slid in through the splintered holes in the roof or the grimy windows. It was barely enough light to see by but it was just the right amount to light the old warehouse in an eerily haunting sort of way.

"Eddy, where are we going...?" Edd asked, following the other two through the tower of rotting wooden crates.

"Ed actually found something really wicked!" Eddy replied with a grin.

"I did, Double D, I did!" Ed said happily, "We were out on patrol like Kevin said we should be and Eddy was picking lady's pockets and one of them noticed." Eddward turned a pointed glared at Eddy who pretended to be very interested in a shadow on the wall, "So she started chasing us and hitting Eddy with her purse so we ran in here and found a secret passage!"

"Really?" Edd said skeptically, "I honestly find that hard to believe. Not Eddy getting beaten down by a girl but a secret passage? That's so juvenile. This isn't a storybook, Ed."

"Is that so?" Eddy spoke up, stopping in front of pile of large metal beams and wooden planks that were all stacked up against the wall, "Ed, do the honors." He snapped his fingers.

Ed leapt forward and heaved the entire tangled pile out of the way with an deafening screech of metal-on-metal that made Eddward cringe. But what lay beyond the pile of junk was a hole in the metal and wood framework of the old warehouse that led from the warehouse to the inside of the building next door. The two buildings were pressed up against one another, making the passage a short tunnel.

"That building next door's all blocked off from the outside," Eddy explained excitedly, "The windows are all boarded up and the door's blocked so you can't get through. This is the only way in. We already started exploring. Come on, Double D!" And with that, he ducked into the hole and wriggled through to the other side.

"Erm, I'm not so sure this is safe..." Edd murmured, "That building's probably blocked off for a reason, we probably shouldn't be going in there..."

"That's what Sarah said about my boots." Ed said and then grabbed the back of Edd's vest and shoved him into the hole. Edd cried out in dismay, trying to back out, but Ed was already crawling in after him and Eddward didn't have much of a choice. He squirmed his way out of the hole, muttering darkly under his breath, trying to brush off dirt and grime from his clothes, and glaring angrily at Ed as the taller boy squeezed his way through.

"If you _ever_ do that again," Edd said tensely, "I'll...why I'll...I'll...!"

"Stutter at him, we get it, Helmethead." Eddy cut it, rolling his eyes, "Leave it alone, Double D, you're wasting daylight. Let's get moving."

Edd clenched a fist at his side but stomped off after Ed and Eddy. His anger soon faded away into curiosity and wonderment as they moved further into the old building which turned out to be a house. Eddy and Ed had already explored the entire first floor which had consisted of a kitchen, a sitting room, a dining area, and an entrance hall. Edd wanted to investigate the basement but Eddy wanted to go to the second floor.

"Fine, you can go in the basement," Eddy finally said, "And Ed and I will go explore upstairs."

"Why can't I have Ed?" Edd grumbled, hunching his shoulders as he cast a glance at the faded paint on the basement door.

"Because you have bombs." Eddy pointed out, indicating the pack slung over Edd's shoulder, "Come on, Ed, we've got exploring to do! I'll race you!" And he took off towards the stairs, Ed howling with laughter after him.

Edd scowled at their retreating backs and then faced the door, apprehension making his legs shake. Sure, he was curious but exploring the basement of an old house really didn't seem like the safest thing to do. There was a crunch from above and Edd looked up in time to see a handful of rotted boards fall to the floor and Ed's legs come out of the ceiling.

Then again, maybe the basement wasn't such a bad idea.

Edd gripped the weathered handle, swallowed thickly, and gave it a twist, pulling the door open slowly. Predictably, it squealed on rusted hinges, protesting, trying to deny Edd its secrets. Darkness loomed up at him from below, impenetrable. Edd reached a shaking hand into his pack and drew out a small leather and brass box with a smudged glass dome on the front. He gripped it by the leather handle on its top, dug out a pack of matches, broke two, had one go out, and finally managed to light the tiny steam generator in the back of the device. There was a low whir and a small lightbulb hummed to life, its feeble light magnified by the dome glass. Edd swept the beam back and forth across the stairs and then took his first tentative steps forward. The stairs creaked underfoot.

"Oh please," Edd attempted to sounded sarcastic but the squeak in his voice effectively ruined it. He swallowed and took another firm step forward. The stair creaked, "All right, that's enough of that." He stomped solidly down the rest of the stairs and found himself in a cool, dark space that smelled of dust, dead insects, old paper and an odd assortment of other smells.

Edd swung his lamp around and it reflected off a a grimy glass surface. Curious, he crept forward and used a cloth from his pack to wipe most of the grime away. Jars with faded labels sat on the shelves, some of them were broken, and there were quite a few empty spaces where it looked as though some of the jars had been removed.

"A fellow man of science...?" Edd wondered allowed and felt his fear slowly ebbing away as he turned to face the rest of the basement. If the previous owner of this house had indeed been a scientist then there would no doubt be some things of intense interest.

Edd picked his way through the room, peering into books, opening drawers, and diving into boxes. Most of the room was emptied and it looked as though it had been emptied in a hurry; some drawers were askew, the latches on some cabinets not closed all the way, and there was even an overturned crate with books spilled haphazardly all over the floor. Eddward took pity on the helpless literature, perched his lamp on a nearby desk, and scooped up the books, stacking them into a neat pile before replacing them in the box. But as he turned away, his lantern light caught the handwritten words scrawled across the cover the top book.

_Observatory Study of Mechanics and Organic Science - Journal Number Four_ It read in a rather untidy string of black ink, and below that it said, _Property of Remington Tyler._

"Observatory journals...!" Edd picked up the journal and flipped through it quickly, "I don't believe it! This is fabulous! Diagrams, sketches, notes! Perfect detail and-ooh, formulas! His handwriting could have used some work but this is a wondrous find!" He gently placed the journal back into the wooden crate, set his lamp atop it, hefted the box up, and headed towards the stairs, stumbling a bit as he went. When he reached the first floor again, he set the box down with a gasp and leaned against the wall. Navigating the stairs had been harder than he had anticipated.

"Helmethead!" Eddy shouted and he came barreling down the stairs, smeared with dust and looking excited, "Oi! Look at this! Look! Tell me it's worth a lot! Oh, come on! Tell me it'll be worth hundreds!" The short boy thrust a silver ring into Edd's hands, dancing on the spot, "It's a wedding band, right? So I just buff it up a bit and the gold comes raining in!"

"I'm in my happy place Double D!" Ed said from the bottom of the stairs. There was a velvet, moth-eaten top hat on his head and he grinning.

Edd squinted at the ring, turning it around in the light still coming from his lamp, "Actually Eddy, I don't think this is a wedding ring. In fact, I think it's just an odd form of nut from a machine. See, their worn down but there are rivets on the inside."

"So I'll just say it was a wedding ring and sell it to some sap!" Eddy snatched the ring away.

"Eddy, that's wrong!"

"Better than a billy." Eddy muttered, frowning at the ring as he look at it, "Handkerchiefs only get you so far, Double D. If want anything good, you have to sell some high quality goods."

"Do you realize that what you're proposing," Edd growled, "Is to...to...is to _fawney-drop_!"

"Double D used a slang word, Eddy!" Ed cried, pointing at Edd so quickly that the top hat fell down over his eyes.

"So he did, Ed! Good for you, Double D, you're growing up!" Eddy grinned and Edd scowled at him, "Aw, get over it, it looks like it could be a wedding ring."

"It's _not_ a wedding ring!" Edd snapped.

"You sure?" Eddy teased, flipping the ring into the air.

"I know it's not because Remy was _never married_!" Eddward shouted, stomping a foot on the floor.

The ring-or nut, whichever it was-hit the floor with a sharp, clear 'ting' the rang loudly in the silence.

Ed and Eddy were staring at Eddward with wide eyes that were clouded with shock and confusion. Edd was staring back at them with a similar expression on his face.

"Who's Remy...?" Eddy finally asked, finding his voice again, "Your boyfriend?" He tried to laugh but it got stuck somewhere in his throat and he choked off, looking at the other two, waiting for a response.

"I...I have...no idea where that came from." Edd murmured, tearing his gaze away to stare at the floor. His mind buzzed with disbelief; he knew what he'd said was true but how he knew he couldn't say and he had no idea what exactly it was he had said.

"I forget what we're doing." Ed said cheerfully. His usual grin was back in full force and for some reason it eased the discomfort that had suddenly crept up on them.

"I believe we've had enough horseplay for the moment." Edd said, forcing a smile, "We should probably be heading back before Kevin locks us out, don't you think?"

"He wouldn't lock us out." Eddy scoffed but he started heading back for the hole in the wall.

"Ed, would you please carry that box for me?" Eddward pointed to the wooden crate of journals still sitting on the floor, "_Carefully_ please."

Ed blinked at his friend and then smiled, "Sure as rain, Double D!" And he scooped up the box with one arm, making it look as though it weighed almost nothing at all.

"Right, Ed. I think you mean right as rain."

"Sure, Double D."

"No, Ed, right."

"Left?"

"_Right_."

"All right!"

"Ed! The wall!"

"That's a wall, all right!"

Edd sighed, rubbing a hand across his forehead in exasperation but couldn't stop the little smile from spreading across his face as Ed stumbled away from where he'd run into the wall, "Lovable oaf." He muttered and then ducked down and followed his two friends to the other side of the hole, back through the warehouse, and out into the sunny, late afternoon that was marred only by the dark clouds looming on the edge of the horizon.

"Looks like a storm's on the way," Eddy said, shielding his eyes to get a better look at the monstrous thunderhead, "A wicked looking one too."

"Something wicked this way comes." Ed chanted with a cheery smile and the other two glanced at him.

"We need to get back to the safe house." Edd said in a low voice. He looked at Eddy who scowled at him.

"What's got you all tied in a knot?" But there was a edge to Eddy's voice that hadn't been there before. Something was off, something was wrong, something had changed. Whether it was from the moment they'd crossed through that hole in the wall into the empty house or from Edd's sudden and somewhat random outburst only seconds before was unclear. But something had definitely changed and whatever it was, it wasn't going to go back to normal.

But the real question was whether the change was for better or for worse.

* * *

_Hm? Was that plot there I wonder? Nah, couldn't have been, that's just silly. _

_Please let me know what you think, guys! I love feedback!_


	3. A Lifeless Ordinary

_Well, look at that. There's a third chapter. Amazing. Everyone be amazed. On the other hand, this chapter is totally a vent chapter. This is just vent-writing, after all. No, seriously, it is. Just wait, you'll see…_

_

* * *

_

**Three: A Lifeless Ordinary

* * *

**

Jimmy waited outside the warehouse for a little while but his curiosity grew and he finally couldn't contain it anymore. Feeling a tad adventurous, the blond boy slunk up to the door and pressed his ear against it, listening. Nothing but silence on the other side. Jimmy grabbed one of the large handles and slowly pulled it back, wincing a bit when it creaked, then he slid into the crack and peered around in the darkness that was split by the beam of sunlight lancing through the opening in the door.

And still there was nothing. No snickering, no breathing, no muffled voices, not even that feeling that there was someone else in the room. Nothing. Jimmy frowned and started poking around in every corner of the warehouse. He scoured it from top to bottom, from cobweb covered corner to dust clogged corner, and had found nothing. Once or twice, he swore he heard someone laughing or voices calling out faintly but whenever he stopped to listen, they had stopped.

Maybe this old warehouse really was haunted, maybe it was haunted by an evil spirit that preyed on anyone foolish enough to enter its domain. Jimmy felt suddenly uneasy and backed out of the warehouse, looking around wildly for anything lurking in the shadows. Once he cleared the door, he slammed it shut, turned on his heel, and ran all the way back to the safe house to tell Kevin the horrible news.

* * *

"Eaten by an evil spirit? You're not serious are you?" Kevin scoffed when Jimmy had reported back, out of breath and shaken, "Jimmy, think about what you're saying for a moment. Did you hear any screams?"

Jimmy paused and then said, "No...well, not really..."

"Did you see any blood?"

"No."

"Was there any evidence at all of them being eaten?"

"What if they were swallowed whole!"

Kevin slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation and was about to tell Jimmy off for being a superstitious fool when the door slammed open and the devils themselves traipsed in. They were laughing and talking loudly, gesturing wildly and completely ignoring everyone around them. Ed had a wooden crate on his shoulder, Eddy was greedily sucking the juices from an apple he clearly didn't plan to share, and Edd was glancing nervously up at Kevin. Kevin glared at him and Edd winced, looking away quickly.

"Where have you idiots been all day?" Kevin asked, striding over so he stood in Eddy's path, "And what's in the box?"

"None of your business where we were!" Eddy sneered, popping the apple core into his mouth and crunching on it loudly. Kevin ground his teeth together and Eddy smiled, "What's wrong Kev, rat under your hat?"

"Oi!" Jonny shouted from across the room.

"So sorry Jonny-boy!" Eddy said sarcastically and then shoved past Kevin, stuffing his hands into his jingling pockets, "Out of the way, Kevin, I've got better things to do then associate with you." With a haughty laugh, the short boy stomped past the gang leader towards the ladder.

Kevin turned his glare on Edd and Ed, "So Double Didikko, what's in the box."

"Just books." Edd replied quickly, "Observatory journals. Nothing of interest, really." Kevin's eyes narrowed dangerously and Edd shrank back a little.

"If looks could kill, I'd be dead." Ed said cheerfully, breaking the tense silence.

"Ed!" Eddy shouted from the second floor, "What are you doing down there? There's work to be done, get crackin'!"

"Already cracked, Eddy!" Ed replied and scrambled up the ladder, the box of journals balanced atop his head.

Edd watched him for a moment and then glanced warily back at Kevin. The gang leader was still glaring at him and when Edd tried to step around him, Kevin grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Listen Double D," The redhead growled under his breath, "The others might trust you but I sure as hell don't. Whatever you're up to-and I _know_ you're up to something-it's not going to work."

"Kevin," Edd pulled away from the other boy, "We're not up to anything." Glare, "Really." More glaring. Edd backed towards the ladder, hands held up defensively, "Well, all right, um, I'll see you later, Kevin." And he scrambled up onto the second floor, breathing a sigh of relief when he could no longer feel Kevin's hard glare at his back.

"Sheesh, that Kevin," Eddy was on his back on his blankets, tossing a coin up in the air and catching it again, "What a crusher. Who's he think he is, anyway, bossing us around like that?"

"Kevin's just looking out for the gang, Eddy." Edd pointed out, dragging the crate of journals across the floor to his own, make-shift bed, "And with your infamous scams and terrible habit of being selfish, it's no surprise he's suspicious of us. Though why he files me into the same category as you two, I have no idea." Edd sniffed, looking pointedly at Ed as the taller boy rolled across the floor, laughing, "Really, you two should be more considerate of the rest of the gang. We're a group, we're supposed to do things together to help one another survive. Keeping essentials to ourselves is no way to stay alive in London, gentlemen."

"Save the lecture, Double D." Eddy scoffed, stowing the coin in his pocket, "I heard it from Kevin and I don't want to hear it from you." He rolled over and pulled a blanket over his head, "I'm going to take a nap. Nobody bother me, you hear?"

"Loud and clear, Eddy!" Ed shouted, "Good night!" And he flopped over right on the spot and started snoring.

Edd rolled his eyes and started sorting through the journals in the crate, placing them in order from one to eight. Thunder rumbled overhead, low and distant. Edd glanced up at the ceiling, his fingers lightly brushing the cover of the first journal, and then leaned over and switched on the cumbersome yet bright, steam-powered lantern sitting on the floor beside him. Then he drew his knees up, propped the journal on his legs, opened it up, and began to read...

_"Observatory Study of Mechanics and Organic Science - Journal Number One. Property of Remington Tyler."_

_FOREWORD_

_This study was founded on the theories and ideas of Doctor Jacc Markusson, my esteemed colleague and friend. Where the funding came from I have not asked; it is not my place to inquire upon such a matter when the mysteries of life are laid out before a man of science._

_In the beginning, I was wary of these studies until Markusson assured me that the specimen we would be using would no longer be living. This has relieved me of my fears and I have begun working with him in his laboratory at his mansion. Markusson suggested I keep a journal of my thoughts-as he does-in order to keep things in order. One never knows what one may discover through aimless writings._

The next writing, beginning on the following page, was the first entry for the observatory study. Edd felt a chill tingle down his spine in excitement. The discovery, that's what he lived for. He read on...

_Subject: Adult male, perhaps between the ages of fifty and fifty-two. Average height and weight. Lower class. He was killed with a blow to the head by a robber; his entire skull has caved in._

_I am merely observing the work at the moment, keeping a record of Dr. Markusson's workings. He has the subject on his work table and is currently in the process of opening the subject's chest cavity for further inspection. As doctors and men of well-studied science, we both know the inner workings of a human being but Markusson suspects that, with the right tools, a person's workings could be "rewired". I must admit I am rather unsure of this theory but I cannot hide my curiosity. Markusson knows this and I suppose that-along with respect for our friendship-is why he keeps me around._

_The chest cavity has been exposed. The heart, lungs, stomach, and all other internal organs are perfectly intact. Markusson makes a comment on the heart, saying how amazing such a small thing is, and I must agree with him. A muscle no bigger than our fist pumps gallons upon gallons of life giving blood through our systems. It is our theory that if this pump were to never stop, then a person would be able to keep going for as long as time itself. In theory._

_Markusson extracts the heart carefully from the subject and places it on another table nearby. Then he carefully slits it into two, delicate pieces, studying its inner chambers and holding them out for me to see._

What followed were several, highly detailed diagrams of the human heart. Edd found these both slightly unnerving and fascinating. Eddy snorted in his sleep and Edd jumped a bit and then jumped again as thunder crashed overhead and the first drops of rain started falling on the wooden roof. Scowling a bit, Edd hunkered down, drew a blanket over his shoulders, and picked up reading again...

_Markusson is proceeding to extract all internal organs for closer observation and study. As he works, he comments on how he will most likely preserve several-if not all-of these specimen and most likely make an attempt to procure more bodies for study. I am oddly unconcerned by this. Why should I be? This is for science, after all._

More drawings of the internal organs, several pages of them, in fact. All highly detailed with lists of their functions, sizes, and what can go wrong with them. Edd saw something brown-ish smeared across the edge of one page and then recoiled a bit when he realized it was aged and dried blood. Collecting himself, he read on as the rain fell harder and harder, and the wind blew, and the thunder crashed, and the lightning blazed across the sky. By the time the steam generator in his lantern had wound down into darkness, Edd was already asleep, the journal in his arms and his head propped on his knees.

He did not dream.

* * *

The next evening brought absolute chaos.

Whatever had been set off he day before was coming full circle to haunt the Eds again. Eddy and Edd got into an argument in the morning about what was right and wrong in the world of thievery and when Ed tried to break them up, they both snapped at him. Both of them frustrated, they refused to speak and went about their own business; Edd continuing to build the weapons that he loathed and looking longing at the crate of journals while Eddy became the safe house pest, getting in everyone's way and generally spreading his foul mood.

It came to a climax when Eddy and Kevin started fighting.

The two of them were always arguing, it was really nothing new. But this time it broke out into a full-blown fist fight. The two boys tussled across the floor, swinging punches, shouting curses, kicking, screaming, and making a general ruckus of themselves. Edd, who was desperately trying to concentrate on what he was doing while millions of other thoughts piled themselves into his head, finally snapped. He stomped down the ladder, squared himself, drew in a deep breath, and screamed,

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everyone froze, staring at him. Even Eddy and Kevin, who were still wrestling on the floor, stopped moving, eyes wide as they looked at Edd. The boy's dark eyes were blazing, his thin fingers curled into angry fists as he glowered at Kevin and Eddy.

"Double D, are you all right?" Nazz asked tentatively.

"No, I am _not_ all right!" Edd snapped in reply, "Dear Lord, you're all so childish it's a wonder any of us ever survive at all! I'm _trying_ to work! I'm _trying_ to do something to keep us all alive and you're just...just playing around! And I am sick of your arguing and your fighting and your utter disregard for privacy!"

"Double D-!" Jimmy began but Kevin cut him off.

"Are you whining again?" The gang leader shoved Eddy off of him and stalked up to Edd, "Because you might be sick of our arguing but I'm beyond putting up with your whining! You're nothing but a no-good," Edd flinched as Kevin leered at him, "Stuck-up, pathetic, weak, useless _freak_!"

Silence.

Edd stared up at Kevin with wide, shocked eyes and then, much to everyone's surprise, he began to cry. Kevin stepped back a bit, startled, and didn't even try to stop Edd when the boy turned and, with great, gulping sobs and tears streaming down his face, tore out of the safe house.

There was a second heartbeat of silence and then Kevin found himself on the floor, looking up at a furious Eddy; the other boy had obviously shoved him. Eddy appeared so furious that he couldn't speak because he stalked right past the fallen leader and ran out into the darkening London night. Ed shot a dark look at Kevin and then took off after his friend.

Jonny tried to follow but Kevin pushed himself to his feet and grabbed the dark-skinned boy, "Let them go." The gang leader muttered, glaring at the door, "If they're really part of this gang, they'll come back by themselves."

Some wary instinct of Kevin's hoped that the Eds would not return.

* * *

With his long legs, Ed quickly caught up with Eddy. The shorter boy was stomping down the London streets, the fingers of one hand drumming heatedly on the butt of one of his steam-guns. The streetlights were just starting to come on, the hum of generators not quite covering the drunken laughter coming from the nearby tavern.

"Are we going to look for Double D again, Eddy?" Ed asked, arms swinging at his sides. There was no answer from his short friend, "Eddy?"

"I don't understand what's wrong with everyone!" Eddy growled, kicking at an old newspaper as it blew across his path, "Kevin's being really strange and Double D keeps running off on his own! It's not right!"

"So we are going to look for Double D?"

"Yes, Ed, we're looking of Double D." Eddy looked up from where he'd been glaring at the street and sighed, "I don't like this."

"The street?" Ed mused, "Me either, Eddy."

"Not the street, Lumpy." Eddy snapped with a light scowl, "What's happening! I don't like what's happening."

"What is happening?"

"I'm...not sure..." Eddy hunched his shoulders and wrapped his fingers around the handles of his steam-guns, tracing the slim tubes that ran from their backs to the small, cylindrical generator on his back. Edd had built the generator for him when Eddy had found the steam-guns, broken and discarded, in the garbage.

"Come on, Ed," The short boy said, "We've got a Helmethead to find."

"Lost and found, Eddy!" Ed said and trotted after his friend, humming to himself.

The first place they looked was in their familiar haunts; their favorite twisted back alleys, the top of the old theatre, the lot behind the cafe, and the park. But they found no Double D. Still going strong, the two friends ventured into places where they often lingered to pickpocket; the train station, the market street, outside the bank, and other usually crowded areas; but at this time of night these places were almost devoid of life, empty except for a few beggars, stray cats or dogs, and the occasional police officer whom the boys went out of their way to avoid. Getting slightly disheartened, Ed and Eddy moved onto places they thought their intelligent friend might visit such as the library (which was closed), the park again (just in case), and finally ended up dragging themselves down Main Street, tired and quite Edd-less.

"I don't know where else to look..." Eddy muttered, leaning against a streetlight with a groan, "This city is huge and he could be anywhere. And it's dark and who knows what could happen. We should just go back..."

"Found him, Eddy!" Ed cried suddenly.

"What!" Eddy straightened up and followed the direction of Ed's pointing finger. Sure enough, hunched over on the steps of London's large, towering church building was a familiar figure. Even with his face buried in his arm, there was no way the two boys wouldn't recognize that helmet and those goggles.

"Double D!" Eddy shouted and then he and Ed were racing down the cobblestone street towards the boy on the steps, skidding to a halt when they reached him, "Double D, we've been looking everywhere for you! What was with you running off, huh?"

"I..." Edd raised his head and the other two saw that his eyes were red and swollen from crying and old tears were still crusted on his face, "I'm frustrated, Eddy."

"Is it Kevin? Because we could punch his lights out for you. Couldn't we, Ed?"

"Like a cat in the bag, Eddy!"

Edd just shook his head, "It's not Kevin though I won't deny that he has been rather irritatingly suspicious lately." The boy bit his lip, frowning a little, "No, it's just that I...I found those journals and I was reading one. For some reason it...the names...I'm not really sure." He shook himself again, "And then that outburst in the old house..." Edd reached up and ran a hand across his face with a sigh, "Eddy, I'm just frustrated about not knowing who I am or where I came from. I have no past. I feel like I...like I don't...exist..." He looked up Eddy with an expression like he was pleading for him to understand.

Eddy slowly raised an eyebrow and then snorted, "You worry too much, Helmethead. Don't get tied up about it."

"How can you say that?" Edd breathed, fingers clenched tightly around his spats, his legs still drawn up to his chest, "How can you possibly tell me not to worry about it! We're _children_, Eddy, and we can't even remember who our parents were!"

Eddy shrugged, "It's not a problem. We've got a home, food, company, a place to sleep. What more do you want?"

"To find out who I am!" Edd cried, leaping to his feet, "Don't you feel at all disconnected! Don't you feel like there's something missing!"

"No." Eddy replied flatly.

"Dear God, Eddy!" Edd threw his hands up in the air, "I don't know how you live with yourself half the time!"

Ed watched with increasing worry as his friends continued to bicker. He wanted to interfere, to stop this fight that was growing beyond their usual arguments, but he wasn't sure what to do. It wasn't unusual for Edd and Eddy to argue but there was something different about this fight, something was horribly wrong about it but for the life of him Ed could not figure out what it was or how to stop it.

"You're getting worked up over nothing!" Eddy scoffed in a voice that was shaking with suppressed anger, "We have everything we need to live! Why do you want to go digging up the past!"

"How can I not!" Edd hollered, "How can _you_ not! We're not _normal_, Eddy! Maybe we were once but if so, we can't remember! I want to remember!"

"Why!" Eddy retorted hotly.

"Because of what happened to us!" Edd shrieked, "Whatever it was it _ruined_ us! Our bodies are mutilated! We're hardly even _human_ anymore, Eddy!"

Eddy's eyes narrowed and his next words came out in a dark growl, "Well it's not exactly like it's a bad thing, now is it?"

Edd gaped at him for a moment or two and then snapped his mouth shut and wordlessly shook his head, his eyes bright with anger and hurt. Eddy just glared back at him. The two boys stared one another down while Ed lingered in between them, feeling uneasy.

Then, quite suddenly, Edd spat out a venomous, "Fine." Turned, and stomped off.

"Fine!" Eddy screamed after him, his voice ringing down the street, "Go ahead and run off again! That's all you're good for! Running away! You bloody coward, who needs you anyway!" The short boy's voice shook and angry tears pricked his eyes, "Go on! Get out of here! I don't care!" Eddy snatched up a pebble from the road and hurled it after Edd with a cry of rage. Then he headed off in the opposite direction, fuming.

Ed remained standing in the same spot, staring in horror first at Edd's and then at Eddy's retreating backs. He didn't know which way he should go.

"ED!" Eddy shouted and Ed yelped, scampering across the cobblestones to catch up with the shorter boy. He glanced over his shoulder at the distant figure of Double D and whimpered.

"We are three no more..." He moaned, looking back at Eddy as he shuffled along beside his companion, "What's going to happen to Double D?"

"Don't know, don't care." Eddy snapped and Ed flinched, "He's an idiot. What do I care, anyway?"

Ed made another whimpering noise and began to cry, tears trickling slowly down his face, "But Eddy-."

"Quiet, Ed, I don't want to hear it."

"But Eddy-!"

"You want to spend the night out here in the cold!" Eddy snarled, rounding on the taller boy, "Fine! Go after him! I don't care! Some friends you are!" He glared at Ed, seething.

Ed sniffed, wiping the back of his sleeve across his face, and did not respond. But his crushed expression said it all. Eddy sighed, shoulders drooping, and he suddenly felt drained. His gaze shifted to the ground and he turned away, heading back towards the safe house,

"Come on, Ed. We've got a warm bed to get back to. Double D can freeze out here in the cold for all I care..."

* * *

_See, see! I told you! It's just people screaming at each other! I was stressing out over a couple of major homework assignments while I was writing this chapter so I think that worked its way in here. (along with a giant bowl of ice cream)_

_Oh, by the way, if you readers were at all interested, I have done a bit of art for this fic on my dA account. There's a link on my profile or go to www . hosekidragon . deviatnart . com but remove the spaces. _


	4. Night on the Town

Seeing Red_ has now been officially restricted to…um…here. I'm not posting it on dA anymore. Yep. Okay, on with the trauma—er, story._

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**Four: Night on the Town**

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The front door of the safe house slamming open signaled the return of Eddy and Ed. The other orphans glanced up sleepily from their beds as the two boys walked past them towards the ladder for the second floor. But when they reached it, they found Kevin sitting in their way. He got to his feet as they approached.

"What's this?" He said in a mocking sort of voice, "No Dee? Color me surprised."

"Out of the way, Kevin." Eddy growled, Ed hovering at his shoulder nervously.

Kevin snorted but stepped aside only to bump into Rolf who had gotten up to join in the conversation.

"Where is Helmet-wearing-Ed-boy?" The foreign boy asked, "Did Short-obnoxious-Ed-boy and Two-apples-short-of-a-bushel-Ed-boy not go to find him? Rolf is confused."

"We did find him!" Ed said, shifting his weight from foot to foot, "But then the Evil Dark Side infected Double D and Eddy and they started fighting and-!"

"He's not coming back!" Eddy cut off his friend, "He left and he's not coming back! End of story!"

"But Eddy," Jimmy had propped himself up on his elbows, his blankets hanging from his shoulders, "It's _freezing_ out there! And it's _dark_!"

"So what?" Kevin spat, "Double Dumbass needs to learn his lesson and if he has to spend a few nights out in the cold to do it, so be it."

"I know, Plank!" Jonny gasped to the rat curled up by his head, "Hard to believe isn't it!"

"Kevin, don't you think that's a little harsh?" Nazz offered hesitantly, "I mean, sure, Double D's a bit strange but he's still one of us."

"It's not my problem." Kevin replied sharply, "If you should be harassing anyone about it, it should be those two morons!" And he pointed at Ed and Eddy.

"Don't you dare pin this on me!" Eddy snapped, swatting at Kevin's outstretched hand, "You started this whole mess! If you hadn't forced him to build those weapons he wouldn't be stressing out so much! And then he wouldn't have been so whiny and stupid about everything!"

"He's got a point, Kev." Nazz put in.

Kevin pulled a disgusted face but said nothing, stepping aside to let Ed and Eddy up the ladder to the second floor. Eddy grabbed for the bottom rung but Rolf gripped his arm, stopping him.

"Rolf does not think leaving Weak-as-a-kitten-Ed-boy out in this night is a good idea." The foreigner said in a meaningful tone of voice.

"Then you go after him." Eddy growled, tearing his arm away from Rolf.

"'Tis not Rolf's place to do this thing." The other boy replied, crossing his arms over his chest with a deep frown, "Rolf thinks that if Loud-mouth-Ed-boy does not work out problems with Helmet-wearing-Ed-boy then there will be much regret, yes?"

"What do you know?" Eddy spat, "You don't even talk properly." And he started up the ladder again. He'd barely gone two rungs up when a strong hand closed around his ankle, plucked him off the ladder, and held him dangling upside down in the air. Eddy found himself staring face-to-face with Ed's furious expression.

"This is not well, Eddy!" Ed cried, glowering at his friend who was staring at him with a shocked expression, "Bad! Very bad! Trouble! Trouble bad! Trouble your fault!"

"My fault!" Eddy struggled in his friend's grip but Ed was impossibly strong and would not let go, "How is this my fault! He ran off! He's the coward!"

"You hurt his feelings, Eddy!" Ed shouted back. By now, the rest of the gang was watching in silence, wary of this unusual spat, "Double D is tied in so many knots he has more circles than a shoelace! We are his friends! It is civil duties of friendship to help friends become not-knotted so they can be free like butterflies in spring!"

"What does that even mean...?" Eddy asked.

"It means you have to say you're _sorry_!" Ed replied and promptly dropped the shorter boy to the floor.

"Ow! Are you joking?" Eddy stood gingerly, cracked his spine, and glared at Ed, "Why should I say sorry to that moron?"

"Go!" Ed's frown was almost menacing as he pointed to the door, "Go on, mister! March out there and apologize!"

Eddy gaped at Ed for a moment or two and then scowled darkly at him, heading for the door. A grin split Ed's features and he trotted after his friend. The door slammed open and then creaked shut. A heavy silence fell upon the remaining orphans who had watched the whole affair in wonder.

"What...just happened?" Nazz finally wondered aloud.

"I think it's better to just not even try and think about it." Sarah muttered with a sigh of exasperation, "You'll probably just make your brain hurt."

* * *

London nights were notoriously cold and dangerous and one did not want to be out alone on the streets at such a time. Edd had found this out the hard way. The only consolation he could give himself was that it wasn't raining. Though, as he wandered further and further from the center town, he was beginning to think that with his luck the sky would no doubt open up at some point and dumb buckets on his head.

Arms wrapped around himself in some vain attempt to stay warm, shivering, hunger cramping his stomach, Edd wandered down the streets, searching for shelter from the chill of the night.

Warm light spilled from the windows of a nearby inn, inviting and comfortable. Edd glanced up and down the street, stepped up to the door, hesitated, and then pushed it open and went inside. It was cozy inside the inn, a fire crackling in the grate at the far side of the room, a few late night patrons lingering around the slowly closing bar, and the stairs towards the bedrooms on the upper floor worn with years of feet walking up and down them. Edd lingered by the door, looking nervously from one place to the other until his gaze finally met that of the inn keeper's. And it was not a friendly, welcoming smile he was getting in return.

"What do you want, kid?" The inn keeper drawled, leaning lazily on his front desk, frowning at the mangy little mutt that had dragged itself through his front door.

Edd swallowed and managed to find his voice, "I...I was hoping for a place to...to sleep, sir." He cleared his throat and spoke a bit clearer, "It doesn't even have to be a room, I just needed some shelter from the cold. I...I'd sleep down here if it was all the same to you and you'd hardly notice I was-."

"No one sleeps in this inn unless they're paying customers." The inn keeper sniffed, "Sorry kid, that's the way it is. I'm not that boss but them's the boss's rules."

"But I-."

"Just get out before someone gets hurt." The inn keeper gestured towards the door, "And go home; the police arrest runaways, didn't you know?" Edd opened his mouth to explain that he wasn't a runaway and that he didn't in fact have a home or parents to return to but the inn keeper just pointed at the door and said in a flat, uncaring tone of voice, "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave without a fight. Beat it, kid."

Edd hunched his shoulders and backed out of the inn, suddenly feeling a whole lot smaller than he had before. As he stepped back out into the night, a cold wind bit through his shirt and stabbed painfully at his flesh, making his joints ache. The boy whimpered and doubled over, making a mad dash through the streets, ducking onto the porch of a house some few miles away from the inn. He shivered and pressed his back against the door, looking out into the cold night. He wished, not for the first time, that he had a real home.

The door behind him suddenly opened and he fell backwards onto a hardwood floor, staring up at a handful of young ladies wearing dresses that were certainly not modest in the least bit. At first, their expressions were ones of shock but they smoothly melted into coy and friendly smiles.

"Well, well, Gwendolyn was right," One of them said in a silky tone of voice, "There _was_ someone on the porch. A little boy..."

"Oooohhh," Another one cooed, bending closer to Edd, "Look at him! He's so small and lonely looking and probably cold!"

"And he's quite cute." Another added, "What's your name, Sweetthing?"

"E-Edd. With t-two Ds." Edd stuttered, pressing his back against the wooden floor. He was starting to feel very uncomfortable around these ladies. Spending time with girls his own age was enough-he grew flustered around them as it was-but to see these grown women all standing over him, all focusing their attention on him, it was a tad unnerving.

"Awwww, what a cute name." The first one crouched down and leaned in extremely close, "You lost, Edd?"

"S-s-sort of..." The boy propped himself up on his elbows and then levered himself to his feet, casting a wary glance at the women around him, "I was actually j-just looking for a place to s-spend the night. If you happen to knew of one..."

"Why, you can stay here, of course!" One of the ladies said happily.

"We'll make sure you stay warm all night, Sugar." Said another and Edd felt his face heat up as a hand was laid across his shoulder.

"Come along, Cutie, let us take care of you..."

"Don't worry about a thing. We'll take care of all your needs."

"You're _so_ adorable...!"

Edd shrank away from their touches and edged towards the door, "R-r-really, ladies, I assure you I'm quite..erm...I don't, that is to say, your...ahem...services won't be required. I really just need a place to sleep."

"What a gentleman." All of them were giggling and fluttering their eyelids at him and it was all Edd could do to keep away from them. He stumbled backwards out into the night, the cool wind stinging the blush on his cheeks as he did so.

"Th-thank you for you offer," He managed to squeeze the words past the lump in his throat, "But I think I'll...um...seek lodgings elsewhere. No offense, ladies."

"None taken, Little Edd." The first woman said, leaning on the doorframe in a way that made Edd tear his gaze away, even as his face flushed again, "But if you ever need some warm company...you know where to find us." She waved her fingers at him as he turned on his heel and nearly ran down the street.

When the house was finally out of sight, Edd let out a breath of air that had gotten stuck in his lungs somewhere. How embarrassing! This, he decided, was one of those moments when he was glad that Eddy wasn't around to tease him for his behavior.

Thinking of Eddy rekindled the angry little fire somewhere inside him and Edd scowled darkly at the cobblestones beneath his shoes. What a fool he'd been to rely on someone like Eddy, to think that Eddy would care at all about their past or what had caused them to become what they were.

Edd didn't realize he'd been walking until he heard dogs barking and glanced up to find himself in the outskirts of town; a place he'd never been before. The barking dogs drew his attention once again and he glanced around to see a couple of mangy dogs charging at him, lips pulled back to show all their teeth in feral snarls, twisted claws tearing up the old soil and gravel beneath their paws, ragged fur clinging helplessly to boney frames.

The boy let out a cry of fear and panic and took off at a dead run. Panic exploded in his chest, overriding his earlier anger, he could hear his own heartbeat thudding in his ears, feel each painful stab of breath as he sucked in air, gasping, and felt the numbing tingle of the wind as it whipped by him. The guttural snarls of the dogs drove him onward, farther and farther from the London's center. Even after he thought he'd lost the rabid dogs, Edd didn't stop running. His chest burned, his legs ached, his lungs were on fire, and he was drenched in sweat that made him shiver violently in the cold wind.

He finally collapsed against and iron fence, clenching the icy black metal in his shaking fingers as he sagged against the thin bars. He gulped in air greedily, the world tilting slightly with light-headedness, his entire body numb and aching and quivering all at the same time.

Gathering his strength, Edd stumbled along the fence, clinging to it for support, and found a gate. He stumbled through it, tripped, fell, got back up again, and moved forward. Something rose out of the ground in front of him and he forced his tired gaze to focus on it.

A gravestone.

He was in a graveyard.

A twinge of nausea swept over him but he pushed it stubbornly aside and trekked onward, moving through the cemetery with the stumbling, jerking movements of a person who needs rest and cannot find it. Each step was harder and harder to take and after what seemed like hours to him, Edd finally fell across the base of a headstone and did not get up again. He lay there, stretched across the cool cement for a moment, before pulling together his last bits of remaining strength and curling into a ball, his back pressed against the raised stone, arms wrapped tightly around him, trying to fight off the cold.

Then he closed his eyes, hungry, cold, tired, and alone, and fell asleep in the the graveyard amongst the dead, praying that he would not be among them come morning.

* * *

_Sucks to be Edd._

_But if you think this is bad, wait until you see what happens later. A lot later. To Ed and Eddy._

_8)_


	5. Unstable Truth

_Well, the response to the last chapter was very encouraging. Haha, everyone's so worried about Double D and for some reason that makes me smile. I must be a terrible person on the inside… X3

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**Five:** **Unstable Truth

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The night had never seemed so long to Ed and Eddy. For the two boys it seemed to stretch on and on, growing darker and colder as each moment passed. And as time progressed, Eddy's anger at Edd began to dwindle away and fade into a mixture of worry and regret.

_What if he gets hurt?_ The short boy wondered as they searched farther and farther from the center of town, _What if something happens to him? Rolf is right, Double D doesn't stand a chance out here by himself. If he gets hurt then…then it's my fault._

"The sky's changing colors, Eddy!" Ed called, interrupting his companion's thoughts. Eddy looked up, staring up at the dark blue-black expanse, the fringes of which were beginning to lighten into a soft pink tinged with violet and blue. Dawn was approaching and there had been no sign of the last member of their trio. Not only that but they were getting further from town then they ever had been before and if they weren't careful, they were going to get lost.

"Where _is_ he?" Eddy wondered allowed as they turned a corner. He pulled up short and Ed practically ran over him, "Watch it, Ed!"

"Why'd you stop?" Ed asked.

"It's just a graveyard, Ed, I wasn't expecting it."

"Graveyard!" Ed shouted and took off running towards the iron fence.

"Ed, you bloody moron!" Eddy shouted, chasing after his friend, "Double D wouldn't be in a _graveyard_! He's too scared! Ed! _Ed_!"

The early morning mist was just starting to creep across the grass, clinging to the edges of trees and blurring the distance. It made the graveyard seem eerie and far bigger than it probably was. Eddy caught up to Ed and managed to slow him down until they were moving at slow walk, peering through the fog, searching for a friend who may or may not be nearby.

"This is kind of creepy, Eddy…" Ed murmured, leaning over a bit in his fear.

Something shifted up ahead and the two boys froze for a moment, staring at the dark shape ahead of them through the mist. When it did not move again, they stepped forward slowly until it became clear.

"Double D!" Ed and Eddy cried together.

"Wha…?" Edd's eyelids fluttered and he squinted up at the two figures above him. He was stiff and cold and hungry but as soon as he saw the smiling faces of his friends, he scrambled into a sitting position, "Ed! Eddy! What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, Helmethead!" Eddy answered with a grin, "And we've been searching for you _all night_! I hope you're happy!" The grin faltered a bit, "Are you all right?"

A light smile traced Edd's face, "I've never been so miserable in my life."

"A misery you'll make of me!" Ed laughed, dancing on the spot and clapping his hands together.

Edd chuckled, "I think we need to work on your grammer, Ed." His stomach gurgled painfully and he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his middle, "Oooohhhh, would either of you happen to have some food on you?"

"I lost my biscuits!" Ed said cheerfully, reaching a hand into a pocket of his trench coat and pulling out a handful of old, stale, and slightly moldy biscuits. Edd cringed at the sight of them.

"Uh, no thank you, Ed. But the gesture was appreciated." Edd turned to Eddy, "You wouldn't happen to have any…Eddy? Are you all right?"

Eddy's gaze was fixed over Edd's shoulder, staring at something behind his friend, his face pale and his eyes wide. Edd frowned at the short boy's expression and glanced around, peeking over the top of the gravestone to see if there was something behind them. Seeing nothing, he looked back to Eddy but the other boy was still staring. Edd glanced back again and still saw nothing.

"Eddy, what on _earth_ are you staring at?"

"Your name, Double D!" Ed grabbed Edd's shoulder and forcibly spun him around so he was facing the headstone behind him, "Look! Your name here!" And he jabbed a finger at the stone.

Edd had to read it twice to process exactly what he was seeing. And when he did, he felt sick and confused. For etched into the rock were the words,

_REST IN PEACE, EDDWARD MARION AUGUST, BELOVED SON, MAY GOD PROTECT YOUR YOUNG SOUL_

The world tilted radically under his feet and Edd fell backwards. He could hear his own heartbeat thudding in his ears, feel each rasp of breath as he tried to suck in air, feel every tingle at his nerve endings. His lungs didn't seem to want to work right, his brain was reading what was written on the gravestone but his heart was rejecting it, his vision swam, and he dry heaved, coughing and choking, suddenly glad he hadn't eaten. The words danced across his vision, even when he closed his eyes, making him feel out of touch, disjointed, wrong, and violated.

"'Here lie Robert Lee August and Cassandra Marala August.'" Eddy's voice seemed to come through a tunnel, from far away, echoing and quiet, "'Loving parents and esteemed veterinarians. Your souls live forever in God's eternal paradise…' Double D…I think…we found your family…"

"This isn't real." Edd murmured, his voice hoarse and cracked, "It can't be. I'm alive. I know I am. It's not possible for me to have a…a…a grave…"

"I've got one too." Ed's voice was not its usual, jubilant one. It was subdued and shocked, "Look…"

Eddy walked over to where Ed was standing and looked down at the gravestone, "Bloody hell…you're right…'Here lies Edward Dean McGoffin, God bless your soul'…what's going on here…?"

"Eddy," Double D had regained his ability to move and was now looking at a headstone beside his parents', "I think…I think you should see this…"

The shorter boy felt apprehension pressing a heavy weight on his chest as he walked up beside Edd. The pressure increased and his world spun when he saw his own name etched into the stone.

"'In memory of Edward Skipper Jacobshire. Loving son and brother. Gone but never forgotten…" Eddy read in a whisper. He spun to look up at Edd, "Double D…what does this mean…?"

"I…I don't know…" Edd admitted, his voice shaking. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay standing, dizziness was making him sway on the spot, "But I…I don't want to stay here anymore." Tears pricked his eyes and he backed away from the gravestone slowly, "Eddy, I want to get out of here…"

"M-me too…!" Eddy agreed, scooting closer to his friend.

"Run! Evil! Bad!" Ed shouted and he snatched up Edd and Eddy and took off running, tearing through the graveyard with no regard for which direction he was headed. He tripped over a headstone and went sprawling, nearly crushing Ed and Edd underneath him. Eddy clawed his way out, grabbed Edd's wrist and Ed's sleeve and tugged them both towards the exit. Ed picked up his feet and started running again, dragging the other two along with him. They ran out through the front gate, tore down the street, and headed back towards London's busy center, fear snapping at their heels.

* * *

"Where the _hell_ have you three been!"

Kevin's voice rang through the safe house, enticing a trickle of dust from the ceiling and making Jimmy flinched behind Sarah. Kevin's face was tinged with red, his eyes burning with anger, and his clenched fists quivering at his sides. He was absolutely livid with anger. And the three Ed boys were suffering the full blow of his wrath.

"We were looking for Double D." Eddy growled, matching Kevin's glare with one of his own.

"And it took you _all night_!" The gang leader roared, "What did you do! Travel all the way to Wales! You could have gotten yourselves hurt! Or worse! You could have been killed!"

"So you _were_ worried about them." Nazz said with a smile.

"Wh-what! I was not!" Kevin stuttered in reply, "If something had happened to them I…we…we would have been short a couple of valuable gang members!"

"So you think we're valuable, eh, Kev?" Eddy teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't push it, Eddy." Kevin snarled, "You three are in so much trouble. In fact," A smirk crossed the redheaded boy's face, "Eddy…you, Sarah, and Jimmy are going out right now to scam people out of some goods."

"WHAT!" Eddy cried.

"How are we going to do that?" Jimmy wondered.

"I don't care." Kevin shrugged, "Pretend you're starving children or something. Loud-mouth over there's short enough to be the same age as you two anyway." He directed a sneer at Eddy who looked ready to strangle him.

"Eddy…" Edd murmured, laying a restraining hand on his friend's shoulder, "In light of the circumstances, it might be a good idea to listen to Kevin. Any suspicious behavior on our part may cause the others to become curious and search out where we've been. The last thing we want is for them to find what we found."

Eddy brushed Edd's hand off his shoulder, scowling a little, "All right, fine. I'll do it. Come on, squirts, we've got a job to do." He glared daggers at Kevin and then stomped out the door, Sarah and Jimmy at his heels.

There was a brief moment of silence and then Kevin threw his hands in the air and shouted, "What are you morons standing around for! There's work to do! Get on it!"

The rest of the gang scattered; Rolf and Johnny diving for the pile of unsorted goods, Nazz dashing off to mend clothes or blankets, and Edd and Ed up to the loft to continue working on weapons.

"Can I help, Double D? Oooh, can I?" Ed asked eagerly, perching himself beside his friend.

"Sure Ed," Double D smiled faintly, "Can you hand me that hammer over there, please?"

"Absolutely positively!"

The day progressed slowly. Edd spent most of it on the second floor, working away at the weapons and occasionally breaking for something to eat or to stretch. But while his hands worked mechanically away at building, his mind wandered back to the graveyard and then down into darker thoughts.

His name had been on that headstone, there had been no doubt about that. But it wasn't just his, Ed and Eddy's names had been there as well. From their shadowed past, something none of them remembered anything of, all they could recall was their names. Edd could barely recall what had happened. He could pull up the sensation of a dark room that had reeked of blood, sweat, tears, human waste, and fear, the heart-wrenching terror of something he didn't know, and the desperate need to get away. But how he had escaped he could not remember. But he did remember the rain; cold and wet and stinging as he and Ed and Eddy tore through London's streets with nothing but their names. The rain that had made his arms ache, the rain that had made Ed whimper as his joints creaked and ran with water, the rain that had made even Eddy shiver, the rain that had forced them down alley after alley until they had found the safe house and sanctuary.

Edd paused, half-way through the motion of twisting a screw into a tiny steam generator, and frowned at the tubing poking out it. Sanctuary they had found, yes, but not answers. His dark eyes flicked to the wooden crate that was against the wall. Those were not answers but they were certainly interesting. Perhaps they would help?

"A shilling for your brains, Double D?" Ed asked, leaning into Edd's face with a wide grin.

Edd couldn't help but smile a little, "Your thoughts, Ed. The phrase is 'a shilling for your thoughts'."

"Oh." The other boy's smile dropped, "Why would I want to buy your thoughts?"

Edd chuckled, "How about I give them to you free of charge?"

"But Eddy always says to take the pigeons' money." Ed replied, his smile slowly creeping back onto his face, "Which is strange because I do not think pigeons have pockets."

Edd just sighed and shook his head, leaning over to continue building the generator, "I was just thinking, Ed. About…about our names."

"Knock, knock," Ed wrapped his knuckles on Double D's helmet, making the other boy wince, "My name is Ed."

"Yyyyeeessss…very good Ed." Double D muttered, "Now how about you hand me that wrench over there?"

* * *

Eddy, Sarah, and Jimmy returned late in the evening in a sad state of affairs. Their mission had not been a successful one. The scams had worked relatively well in theory, but the casual passerby was more willing to give sympathy than food or coin. They had managed to steal a couple of nice silk handkerchiefs and swipe a couple of loaves of bread off a stand while the owner was distracted by a wailing Jimmy but had had no luck pick pockets or gathering any decent amount of money, not to mention that Eddy got harassed by a couple of girls from the Kanker gang. But a day's spoils were a day's spoils and no one complained too much; at least they had a decent supply of food to eat.

Edd took his food upstairs to sit by himself and read more of the journals. He set down his piece of bread and apple and picked up the second journal. Laughter came from the first floor and peered over the edge of the loft at the group sitting together on the floor. Rolf appeared to be relating some sort of story, gesturing wildly and making odd noises while the others laughed and clapped at his antics. Edd smiled at their innocence, glad that his friends could take a moment to forget the horrors of the morning.

Then he settled back, took a bite out of his bread, and flipped open to the first page of the second journal…

_Observatory Study of Mechanics and Organic Science – Journal Number Two. Property of Remington Tyler._

_These studies have gone far beyond what I have expected. Not only have I been surprised by what Markusson proposes to do, but I have also found myself amazed at what we can accomplish._

_It has become my belief that human understanding is narrowed into two simple fields; life and death. What is real and what is not real. What we can see and what we cannot see. We can see life, living organisms, and the universe, even if we are unable to explain some of it. Death, on the other hand, is a complete mystery to us. We do no understand it nor can we explain it, so therefore we fear it. It was this idea that led to Markusson's research._

_I must admit I still find myself confused as to why we did not begin our experiments with animals. Markusson's reply to my inquiry on this matter was, "Animals lack a soul, Remy. They cannot rationalize a situation, they cannot argue, and they cannot retain memories. They are mechanical beings living on sheer instinct. This is what I am trying to recreate. I do not wish to start with a machine that needs no change."_

_He said this all with a gun in his hand. Afterwards, he beckoned me to follow and I, ever curious and loyal friend, followed. We entered his lab and found a man strapped to his table. I did not know this man but he did not appear in the best of health; perhaps a beggar from the street. Whoever he was it is no longer relevant. Markusson pointed the gun at the man's chest and shot him four times in the heart._

Edd dropped his half eaten apple into his lap in astonishment, mouth hanging open, eyes wide. A shiver ran down his spine and the voices and laughter from below seemed suddenly very distant. He wanted to stop there and then, to put the journal down and pretend he hadn't seen what he'd just read. But he couldn't. That insufferably curious side of him would not let him. He just kept reading…

_I was shocked at first. Markusson—my close friend—had just killed a man. What was I supposed to say to that? Markusson himself appeared sickened by his very actions but he did not hesitate. He cast the gun aside and began to promptly dissect the man. He removed the heart and held it out to me, showing me the bullets wedged into the muscle and the blood still leaking from the holes._

_I asked him what shooting a man in the heart was supposed to accomplish. He smiled at me—actually smiled—and set the heart aside. Then he retrieved a large wooden box from beneath his work bench. It was filled with machinery; wires, cables, tubing, metallic plates, thin steel filaments, and a large assortment of gears and small steam generators._

"_We're going to build this man a new heart, Remington." Markusson said to me. I argued that even if we did, the man's soul had fled. A dead body with a working heart is still a dead body; the brain has ceased to function, stopping all normal bodily workings._

"_Ah, but Remy," Markusson says to me now as I carefully watch him work, "That is the sheer beauty of it. For a soul and a brain are what make a man, no? Without such things, what does he become?"_

_I have no answer for him._

There were more diagrams and sketches for several pages depicting this supposed fake heart that Jacc Markusson had built. Edd studied them with hungry curiosity. While the idea was somewhat sickening, he also found it quite fascinating. To reanimate of dead human being with nothing but machines seemed impossible, almost bordering on lunacy. And yet…

And yet…

Edd shook off the dark ideas pilling themselves into his mind, hunched over the journal, and kept reading, completely unaware that the laughter from below had faded into soft breathing and snores and that the candle beside him was burning dangerously low.

_All our tries thus far have been failures. It has become my personal opinion that the mysteries of life are best left alone or to holy men who have God's express permission to delve into such dangerous waters. I have not shared such suspicions with Markusson; he is determined in his venture and I have not the heart to dissuade him. He is, after all, my friend._

_But I have noticed the Markusson has become more distressed lately. He believes our funding is going to be cut unless we produce some results and I am beginning to feel the same way. Perhaps bringing a human back to life is impossible. Perhaps it cannot be done._

_I am also under the belief that Markusson is conducting something behind my back. I confronted him about it and he confided in me that he was exploring other methods—some that may appear less than reasonable in the scientific community. I am not sure what he is up to but for the moment, I will leave him alone. He is my trusted companion and when he feels he is ready to tell me, he will do so._

_Tomorrow, I am going to head out to the station on Markusson's word. He has ordered some new mechanical parts coming through on the Interlude Express and I am to pick them up._

Something tickled the back of Edd's mind and he grasped at it only to have it slip away. What was it? What was it that had triggered that odd—almost scary—sense of de-ja-vu? Edd glanced at over the last paragraph of the journal, trying to find what the trigger had been. But nothing came to him. He sat back with a sigh and the low burning candle fluttered in the wake of his breath.

In the silence, Edd realized that he was the only one still awake; his companions had already fallen into a peaceful sleep. The boy replaced the journal in the box, picked up an armful of blankets and the candle, and then crawled quietly down the ladder. He crept over to where the rest of the gang was sleeping, draped a blanket over each of them, and then settled down between Ed and Eddy with his own blanket bundled up around him, set the dying candle aside, and snuffed it out before closing his eyes. The only thing that remained was the thin trail of smoke disappearing into the darkness and the lingering smell of something that had long since ceased to burn…

* * *

_There's the end of chapter five. Lots of plot poking out in this one. And lots of action in the next one._

_So you should totally go find "Melody of Pandora" on YouTube and listen to it while you read the graveyard scene. It fits eerily well._


End file.
